Transcript of Exploratory, Descriptive, and Causal Research Designs

Depth interviews – Tap the knowledge and experience of people who have encountered this problem before.

Focus groups – Interview with a small number of people.

Case Analysis – Studying examples of the problem.

EX: When the CEO of Aeropostale was asked how they select which clothes are carried in their stores, he said “We don’t look at what’s on the selling floor of our competitor, we look at what’s on the backs of our customers” (Brown, 2014)

Two Types of Descriptive StudiesContinuous panelsConclusion*We hope that you can apply these 3 steps of research into your future decision making processes!Exploratory vs. Descriptive vs. CausalExploratory – Major emphasis is on gaining ideas and insights.

Descriptive – Emphasis on determining the frequency with which something occurs, or the covariance between two variables.

*Close-ended questions force respondents to come up with answers the researcher has come up with, leading to information bias.

*Can include “other, please specify”.

Group AssignmentsGroup 1 – Should the U.S. lower the drinking age to 18?

Group 2 – Is outsourcing unethical? Can it be?

Group 3 – Should college athletes be paid?

Group 4 – Should fast-food restaurants be blamed for obesity?

Group 5 – Should illegal immigrants be made legal citizens?

Group 6 – Is it fair to limit where sex offenders can live and work?

Descriptive Research Descriptive research is used to describe characteristics of a population or phenomenon being studied. It does not answer questions about how/when/why the characteristics occurred.Descriptive Research RequirementsDescriptive research requires a clear specification of the who, what, when, where, why, and how of the research.

* DO not collect data until hypotheses are developed and clear answers about who, what, when, where, why, and how are available.Dummy Table a table with no entries used to show how the results of the analysis will be presented. It forces you to think carefully about each piece of information to be collected.Magic toolTwo Types of Descriptive studiesCross-sectional studyCross-sectional study involves drawing a sample of elements from the population of interest. Characteristics of the elements, or sample members, are measured only once. Sample surveyCross-sectional study in which the sample is selected to be representative of the target population and in which the emphasis is on the generation of summary statistics such as averages and percentages.Longitudinal StudyA longitudinal study involves a panel, from which measures are taken over time, in contrast with one-time measurement in a cross-sectional study. Continuous panels rely on repeated measures of the same variables.Discontinuous panelsA fixed samples of respondents who are measured repeatedly over time, but on variables that change from measurement to measurement.Causal Research Design*Investigation of cause and effect relationships.*Used to test your hypothesis.Experiments and Market TestingMarket TestingThank you!Four types of experimentsExperimentLaboratory experimentField experimentMarketing testingMarket TestingThe use of a controlled experiment done in a limit but carefully selected section of the marketplace. Marketing testing is often used to predict the sales or profit.Key issuesCost is a big issue in test-marketing.Time required for an adequate test market can also be substantial.ControlThree Types of Test MarketsStandard test marketA test market in which the company sells the product through its normal distribution channels.Controlled test marketAn entire test program conducted by an outside service in a market in which it can guarantee distribution.Simulated test marketA study in which consumer ratings and other information are fed into a computer model that then makes projections about the likely level of sales for the product in the market.Ethnography*Prolonged observation of consumersEthnographers - Use Interviews, video and audio recordings (vs. Anthropologists)Allows insights based on behavior, not just what people say.Not meant to discern final answers and making decisions.